acer rubrum

Hello everyone. I would like to bonsai a acer rubrum here in Naples, FL. I would probably find a 3 or 4 year old sapling. My question is, if I trunk chop a nursery tree will it sprout new growth? I can't find any wild trees in my area so I'm limited to nursery stock. The trees a various nurseries are about 8 to 10 ft. tall which are fine because I want a 1 to 2" trunk anyway. Any thoughts? Thanks, Steve

Yeah, chop it when it's dormant and the following spring it should sprout new growth everywhere.

Yes, Acer Rubrum will sprout readily from a trunk chop. However, you should only chop a tree that has adequate base girth for your final design. Generally, after the chop, you will not gain much base girth.

It will sprout, but it is always nice to find on with at least one LOW branch that can become the new leader and provide some apppearence of taper. Otherwise, taper will be very slow in developing.

You don't find any growing naturally because Naples is just over the southernmost edge of its range in Fla.

Tentakelaertje wrote:Yeah, chop it when it's dormant and the following spring it should sprout new growth everywhere.

Chop trees in the spring. Just before buds open.

M. Frary wrote:

Tentakelaertje wrote:Yeah, chop it when it's dormant and the following spring it should sprout new growth everywhere.

  Chop trees in the spring. Just before buds open.

Dormant works, too.

JimLewis wrote:

M. Frary wrote:

Tentakelaertje wrote:Yeah, chop it when it's dormant and the following spring it should sprout new growth everywhere.

  Chop trees in the spring. Just before buds open.

Dormant works, too.

But not dormant over winter. Late winter yes. Early winter no.

Come on . . . the guy's in Florida!

M. Frary wrote:

JimLewis wrote:

M. Frary wrote:

Tentakelaertje wrote:Yeah, chop it when it's dormant and the following spring it should sprout new growth everywhere.

  Chop trees in the spring. Just before buds open.

Dormant works, too.

 But not dormant over winter. Late winter yes. Early winter no.

Noob question, but why not chop early winter? I know the tree heals faster in spring, but if you chop in early winter the tree has less buds to spend energy on, so in theory the new growth should be stronger. Or isn't this how it works?

Most trees withdraw sap during the winter. As such they often die back a bit from any cuts. If you trunk chop in early winter you risk having the trunk die back too low and not getting buds where you want.

Now if you have a 2 meter tall tree that you plan to chop at the 0.1 meter mark, it is probably just fine to cut it off at 0.5 meter in the early winter so it is easier to store before doing the chop at the final height in the late winter/early spring as the sap starts to rise.

I often cut back long growth on trees in development once they go dormant for the winter so they are easier to store and less apt to be damaged by a heavy snow. However, I always try to leave a couple of buds or 5 cm (whichever is longer) to allow for die back.

Here in south florida there is only or 3 months of morning temperatures in the 50's in winter . This is august. Why no chop now? I can pick my tree now and wait. If I chop in now , will it die?

Never having lived in a climate which did not freeze for a fair bit of the winter, I cannot say for certain how the tree would react to a chop at this time. However, I still suspect that it will withdraw sap to some extent when it goes into dormancy due to the lower light levels and temperature so I would still not chop at the final location. Perhaps someone with more experience in chopping trees in your mild climate can provide more insight.

I'd say chop now. You have at least 3 1/2 month of growing season left to you. Just keep it out of full sun for a month or two.

Marty Weiser wrote:Most trees withdraw sap during the winter. As such they often die back a bit from any cuts. If you trunk chop in early winter you risk having the trunk die back too low and not getting buds where you want.

Now if you have a 2 meter tall tree that you plan to chop at the 0.1 meter mark, it is probably just fine to cut it off at 0.5 meter in the early winter so it is easier to store before doing the chop at the final height in the late winter/early spring as the sap starts to rise.

I often cut back long growth on trees in development once they go dormant for the winter so they are easier to store and less apt to be damaged by a heavy snow. However, I always try to leave a couple of buds or 5 cm (whichever is longer) to allow for die back.

Thanks Marty!